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Diversity
Volume 17
Issue 5
10.3390/d17050354
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Article

Systematic Revision of the Genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and Assessment of Its Phylogenetic Position Within Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Using Ultraconserved Elements

by
Mihir Joshi
1,2,
Shubhankar Deshpande
1,
Sajiri Ukale
1,2,
Gaurang Gowande
1,3,
Julia Bilat
4,
František Kovařík
5,
Hélène Mottaz
4,
František Šťáhlavský
5,
Deshabhushan Bastawade
1,
Lionel Monod
4 and
Shauri Sulakhe
1,*
1
Scorpion Systematics Laboratory (SSL), InSearch Environmental Solutions (IES), Flat no 1, Omkar Apartments, Near Shivaji Maharaj Statue, Sant Gangaram Road, Pune 411038, Maharashtra, India
2
Department of Biotechnology, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Shivajinagar, Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India
3
Annasaheb Kulkarni Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, Karve Road, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India
4
Muséum D’histoire Naturelle, Route de Malagnou 1, 1208 Genève, Switzerland
5
Department of Zoology, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Diversity 2025, 17(5), 354; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17050354 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 2 April 2025 / Revised: 7 May 2025 / Accepted: 10 May 2025 / Published: 16 May 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diversity, Evolution, and Systematics of Chelicerates)
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Abstract

India and Sri Lanka are known to exhibit high levels of biological diversity with many endemic taxa, such as the enigmatic scorpion genus Charmus Karsch, 1879. Members of this genus are rarely encountered in the field and are also known to be morphologically very similar, which impedes their systematic assessment. Our dedicated efforts towards sampling the members of the genus resulted in the collection of important material, which allowed us to carry out a thorough systematic revision of the genus using an integrated taxonomic approach. We propose several taxonomic changes based on the results of a detailed morphological study supported by molecular data. Charmus indicus Hirst, 1915 is synonymized with Charmus laneus Karsch, 1879, owing to the lack of morphological differences and low genetic divergence between the two taxa. We designate a neotype for Charmus sinhagadensis Tikader and Bastawade, 1983, and describe a new species from Sirumalai (Tamil Nadu, India). Moreover, we provide the first molecular phylogeny of Charmus based on Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA (16S) and 28S rRNA (28S) genes. The phylogenetic position of the genus within the family Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 is also tested using an independent genome-wide dataset (Ultraconserved Elements). Topological congruence and discrepancies between the phylogenies generated with Sanger sequences and the Ultraconserved Elements are commented on, and the reliability of these datasets when evaluating phylogenetic relationships at different hierarchical levels is further discussed.
Keywords: Indian sub-continent; endemism; biodiversity; new species; multi-locus phylogeny; genomics; Scorpiones; Buthidae; Charmus Indian sub-continent; endemism; biodiversity; new species; multi-locus phylogeny; genomics; Scorpiones; Buthidae; Charmus
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MDPI and ACS Style

Joshi, M.; Deshpande, S.; Ukale, S.; Gowande, G.; Bilat, J.; Kovařík, F.; Mottaz, H.; Šťáhlavský, F.; Bastawade, D.; Monod, L.; et al. Systematic Revision of the Genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and Assessment of Its Phylogenetic Position Within Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Using Ultraconserved Elements. Diversity 2025, 17, 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17050354

AMA Style

Joshi M, Deshpande S, Ukale S, Gowande G, Bilat J, Kovařík F, Mottaz H, Šťáhlavský F, Bastawade D, Monod L, et al. Systematic Revision of the Genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and Assessment of Its Phylogenetic Position Within Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Using Ultraconserved Elements. Diversity. 2025; 17(5):354. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17050354

Chicago/Turabian Style

Joshi, Mihir, Shubhankar Deshpande, Sajiri Ukale, Gaurang Gowande, Julia Bilat, František Kovařík, Hélène Mottaz, František Šťáhlavský, Deshabhushan Bastawade, Lionel Monod, and et al. 2025. "Systematic Revision of the Genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and Assessment of Its Phylogenetic Position Within Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Using Ultraconserved Elements" Diversity 17, no. 5: 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17050354

APA Style

Joshi, M., Deshpande, S., Ukale, S., Gowande, G., Bilat, J., Kovařík, F., Mottaz, H., Šťáhlavský, F., Bastawade, D., Monod, L., & Sulakhe, S. (2025). Systematic Revision of the Genus Charmus Karsch, 1879 (Scorpiones: Buthidae), and Assessment of Its Phylogenetic Position Within Buthidae C. L. Koch, 1837 Using Ultraconserved Elements. Diversity, 17(5), 354. https://doi.org/10.3390/d17050354

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